Michigan Readies for Emergencies with New Command Center

Emergency management officials in Michigan, headed up by Governor Snyder, have broken ground on a new emergency command center, said to be able to offer shelter from everything Mother Nature throws at them--including a Category 5 tornado.

MLive.com is reporting today that groundbreaking took place Thursday for the new State Emergency Operations Center on Harris Drive in Windsor Township. The 28,000 square-foot facility is being built near the state police general operations building. It is being funded primarily with state dollars but with some help from the feds.

"This is going to allow us not only to grow with additional personnel....this is also going to allow us to put more technology up on the walls and that's going to give us more situational awareness," said Captain Chris Kelenske, commander of the state police's emergency management and homeland security division.

In addition to the strongest tornadoes, the new facility will also offer cover from earthquakes, flooding and extreme warm and cold temperature.

The state is currently renting a facility at a cost of more than a million dollars a year, but that lease will end when the new operations center opens next year.

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